Review: Viet Royale

6767 Wilson Boulevard (Eden Center)
Falls Church, VA 22044

Slightly less well-known than some of its Eden Center neighbors like Four Sisters, my brother and I never the less had an outstanding lunch at Viet Royale and recommend it wholeheartedly for folks looking for good Vietnamese food beyond the staples of pho and banh mi.

What kind of bar do you prefer?

There are so many different kinds of places to have a drink these days. There are massive bars filled with tanked folks partying their livers off, there are quiet joints, there are hip places with $12 drinks, there are dives, and there are even places where you have to wear a jacket. Depending on my mood, I like almost all of these options – though the insane college bar scene (Rhino, this means you, especially during OSU games) is starting to get old.

I am a fan of many bars, but here are a couple that I am always willing to head back when in need of some libations.

Review: A&J Restaurant

The Place:

A&J Restaurant

4316 Markham St, Annandale, VA 22003

The Meal: 

• Pickled Cabbage
• Dried Bean curd with Peanuts
• Spicy Cucumber
• Sesame Wide Noodles with Powdered Peanuts
• Fried Dough Cruller
• Shanghai Style Wonton with Spicy sauce
• Sesame Biscuit with Beef
• 2 diet cokes (because caffeine cures all)

On Sam’s list

Sam’s list below is good, but he has exposed my preference for Cantonese food over Szechuan. Frankly, I have to be in the right frame of mind to do a full-blown spicy Szechuan meal. I love spicy stuff, but in my opinion Szechuan spicyness doesn’t match the flavor and heat that comes from good Thai, Indian, or Korean food.

A&J, which is Manchurian I think, is a different matter and simply a case of me regrettably not getting over to that corner of Annandale enough. I think we need to do a visit. A&J is outstanding and really affordable too.

Best Chinese Restaurants?

While my older, more conservative, perhaps more feeble brother did indeed name some of our area’s finer Chinese restaurants, he did miss a few that have, over the years, satisfied both my palate and my wallet.

1.  A&J Restaurant – A little pickled cabbage, a little spicy cucumber, some cold sesame noodles, the best fried chicken and noodle soup in Northern Va, a few dumplings, and thats just the START.  This place, were it closer to my house, would be a biweekly event. 

2.  China Star – Nestled in a strip mall in Fairfax, this restaurant still, after numerous Washingtonian mentions, remains under the radar of most ethnic-food-adventurers in our area.  An assortment of classic american-chinese staples mixes nicely with a more authentic list of soul-warming dishes.  Recommend for a quiet rainy night when you and your significant other are too lazy to do something real, and just want some chinese food, a rented movie, and a couch.

3.  Szechuan Village – For the szechuan lovers, this unassuming restaurant in Chantilly is shooting out seeringly authentic, chili oil and vinegar laced dishes.  If you can get passed the normal lunch crowd eating their orange chicken and combo fried rice, and venture a look at the more challenging / terrifying / exciting szechuan menu, you won’t be disapointed.  One last note — bring pepto. 

Let Aaron and I know what you think…

The Greatest Snack in the World: Bánh mì

...Drool

Its 1pm on a Saturday Afternoon, I am just arising from the couch where I have no doubt been playing video games or watching mindless cooking shows since 10 or 11 and the paralysis hits me —-

Damn I’m hungry.

I already know that my cupboards are empty, my fridge filled only with juice, leftovers, and an odd beer or two.   Where do I turn?

The holy of holies — The Vietnamese Bánh mì.  All the ethnic-food-phobes just cringed at the sound of what must be some odd smelling, freakish colored, or terrifyingly ambiguous meat product.  Oh they are so wrong…  Enter — a fresh baked french baguette, split, filled with chicken, sprouts, pickled vegetables, jalapenos and a dressing to top it off.  If that doesn’t sound like the perfect cure to too many Aristocrat and Mountain Dews the night before, somethings wrong with you.

I implore everyone, regardless of ones previous experience with Vietnamese food, to venture to your local Vietnamese snack shop and pick two up.

What are your top 5 Chinese restaurants in the DC area?

The roasted ducks lined up at Mark's Duck House in Falls Church

In honor of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, going on live in Beijing as I write this (despite what NBC might have you believe), let’s ask this question: What are your top 5 Chinese restaurants in the DC area?

Here are mine:

1. Mark’s Duck House, Falls Church – I am lucky enough to live 5 minutes from here and easily go here once a month. This is world-class Cantonese food here, folks. Literally everything I have ever ordered has been good, from the duck (Can you find better roasted duck in the entire city?) to the seafood. Even something as simple as stir-fried Chinese greens are simply better here. Unless you are willing to invest an hour waiting, you do need to go at “off-hours,” but as it’s open until 11 p.m M-Th and 12 a.m. F-Sat, it’s not too hard to do. If you’re willing to go early and/or wait, the weekend dim sum is as good as any in the metro area. When you see the oyster cart coming, don’t let it pass without trying one. The only negative to this place? It doesn’t deliver.
2. Peking Village, Falls Church – Very, very authentic Szechuan restaurant that does deliver, but going there is half the fun as you surrounded by big Chinese families and groups partying heartily and having a great old time. Be sure to ask for the “Chinese” menu which is where you can find all the regional specialties. Unfortunately, the specials written everyday on the wall aren’t easily translated for non-Chinese diners by the staff and I have never been able to try any of them. For those looking for milder dishes, the crispy eggplant with garlic sauce and chicken with cashews have elicited raves from fellow diners.
3. Full Kee, Chinatown – One of the few good authentic Cantonese places left in Chinatown, this is my go-to post Caps-game option. The soups and casseroles are outstanding here, especially on all those cold nights after watching Joe Reekie stumble and fall down in the face of the opposition’s third-line winger during the bad years. It’s open late, and there’s never a wait, even after games.
4. Chinatown Express, Chinatown – The place to go for fresh noodles and dumplings. A madhouse at lunch, I’ve never been for dinner, but my recommendation is simple – get the noodles and dumplings you see being freshly prepared in the front window.
5. Hunan West, Springfield – This is my nostalgia pick. This was the Chinese restaurant I grew up going to in Annandale. It’s not nearly as authentic as the others I list, but it does all the Chinese restaurant standards well and has kind and welcoming service. Hot and sour soup is easily screwed up by making it too sweet or too gooey, but try Hunan West’s. It’s simplicity done well.

Sam, what do you think?

Some strange dishes seen at the Olympics

Who doesn't enjoy "stir-fried wikipedia," served at a restaurant in Beijing. Link Via Japundit

Western reporters have been gleefully reporting some of the strangely translated dishes on offer at restaurants throughout Beijing. Even the official Beijing Olympic website has noted the effort to correct the strange writing. Now, I love Chinese food, so I am not goofing on centuries of culinary tradition, I am just think language is funny. Some examples include:

• Husband and wife’s lung slice
• Chicken without sexual life
• Bean curd made by a pock-marked woman
• Chinese Borsch
• Pearl Balls

Have any of you seen any strange example of mistranslated dishes, Chinese or otherwise?